[NGT2]

I have a 2020. It says I have WiFi capability. Does the car have its own WiFi or does it need a hotspot through my service provider to actually work? I know I’m subscribed to whatever it is. I’m just ignorant and don’t know how it works. With GM I had WiFi through OnStar but it was subscribed through ATT.

[arkhi]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I had WiFi through OnStar but it was subscribed through ATT.

It's the same thing. https://www.bmwusa.com/content/dam/b...Fi_Hotspot.pdf

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I have a 2020. It says I have WiFi capability. Does the car have its own WiFi or does it need a hotspot through my service provider to actually work? I know I’m subscribed to whatever it is. I’m just ignorant and don’t know how it works. With GM I had WiFi through OnStar but it was subscribed through ATT.

If you go into iDrive and look around for mobile hotspot, it should prompt you for 3GB of free wifi data via AT&T, once that's used up, you have to sign up for a plan, just like a cell phone. So it is effectively a hotspot in your car. I went and signed up for the 3GB for fun but never could see the need for it when I have 5G hotspot unlimited from my phone if someone in the car really needed to connect. It is also only LTE, so my phone is faster connected to 5G.

[LogicalApex]

I can’t be certain on the MY cutoff, but for MY2020 it is as described here by Joe and others. I know you have a MY2020 so I’m adding additional color since these threads come up in searches.

In the LCI where BMW moved to 5G connectivity in the cars you get eSIM support. I believe this allows you to add the car to your carrier’s plan similar to what would be done with a tablet. At least is allows you to signup via the myBMW App and it is tied to your BMW Profile. Meaning, you are able to use the hotspot plan on any BMW you sign your profile into that supports eSIM. Which could be a better value.

Back to MY2020.

I also didn’t find any real value in it over using 5G on my phone. Similar to Joe. IMHO the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Especially since the car maintains its own separate data connection for anything non-hotspot related. You don’t need it for RTTI or anything else.